Philippines Bitcoin exchanges to face new regulations

Officials for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas analyse whether to apply additional scrutiny to money exchangers in the Philippines, which could capture Bitcoin exchanges that swap cash for digital currencies, according to coindesk.com.

This move follows a hack on the SWIFT international transfer system. In February 2016 a cyberattack on the central bank of Bangladesh resulted in the theft of USD 81mln, which took place via the institution’s conduit to the SWIFT network. SWIFT is used as a clearing system for the world’s financial institutions, and flaws in the Bangladeshi central bank’s cybersecurity measures were blamed for enabling the intrusion.

The incident has sparked both criticism as well as a rethink of how these institutions access SWIFT. Central bank officials in the Philippines have organized a new working group to address potential flaws in its cybersecurity policies, coindesk.com continues.

In March 2016 central bank deputy governor Nestor Espenilla suggested that any banks found at fault in the February hack could face penalties.